Windows XP Activation

Windows XP, like Office XP that shipped earlier this year, will require users to activate it. Although activation is not required for organizations purchasing Windows XP under volume license agreements, concerns about activation privacy and how activation will respond to hardware changes have led many to see the activation process as a barrier to Windows XP acceptance. (For more information on activation, see “Operating System Activation Aims at Piracy” on page 24 of the Mar. 2001 Update.)

The privacy concerns may stem from the fact that the second page of the Activation Wizard asks the user if they want to register the product. Selecting Yes on this page leads to a dialog box asking for user information, such as a name and address. But activation and registration are completely separate processes, and only activation is mandatory. According to the German software company Fully Licensed (which has analyzed the activation process), activation does not transmit any personal information to Microsoft—only information about the user’s hardware.